B-26B/C Marauder "Flak Bait" Airplane Model

One of your favorite miniature planes!

The B-26 Marauder is an American Second World War twin engine medium bomber made by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In 1942, it was the first bomber in the Pacific Theater and Aleutian Islands. In 1946, it was the main offensive weapon of the Western Front by the Army Air Force. The B-26B sustained the lowest record of any fighter aircraft during the war. Its loss earned its unofficial nickname “The Widowmaker.” There were 5,288 aircrafts produced between the years 1941 to 1945. The Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force used 522 of them.

The B-26B Marauder first came out in May 1942. It was the Marauder model that was built in large numbers. The difference between the B-26B from the earlier versions of the Marauder aircrafts is the two .50 inch machine guns with 1500 rpg placed in a stepped down tail position. It replaced the B26 and B-26A single hand-held guns. The guns are used manually by bead sight and ring. The gunner kneels down to find his targets and shoots his armaments. The ammos are on the cartridge belts standing on a pair of roller tracks. Each of the guns has 800 rounds. The overall length was increased to 58 feet and 3 inches because of its new tail position.

The B-26C was similar to the B-26B. But all B-26C aircrafts were made with a larger wing. In fact, it was the first Marauder version to show with a larger wing. The wing was shown on the Omaha line before it showed on the Baltimore line. Its wing span turned to 712 feet and the area of the wing increased to 713 sq. ft. The modifications made, such as the additional weapons and armor and its enlarged wing and tail assembly, increased the weight by 1500 lbs. The top speed at 15,000 feet decreased to 282 miles per hour and cruising speed decreased to 214 miles per hour.